


The Stars of Gallifrey

by goodisrelative



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-01
Updated: 2009-12-01
Packaged: 2017-10-04 02:00:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodisrelative/pseuds/goodisrelative
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Rose watches over the Doctor and finds the stars of Gallifrey.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stars of Gallifrey

Title: The Stars of Gallifrey  
Author: GoodIsRelative  
Rating: Kids (G)  
Pairing: Nine/Rose  
Spoilers: None!  
Summary: _Rose watches over the Doctor and finds the stars of Gallifrey._  
Disclaimer: Doctor Who is owned by the BBC. I just borrow them for my enjoyment that I share with all of you… not for any other reason. I am a comment-whore and expect only reviews!

Beta 1 rocks... so y'all get this well before I leave in 17.5 hours.  


A/N: This is set sometime after Dalek and The Long Game, but in the future from that as well, just because it isn't until Dalek that Rose gets a true understanding of the torment the Doctor deals with all the time. There really is no reference to any episode. It's more of a timeless piece; a snapshot of a few moments between them, once their "getting to know you" period is long over. I hadn't seen more than The Long Game when I wrote this. I spent three hours on icons and then tried to go to bed because it was late and I rise early, but these two would simply not let me be until I wrote this piece. So work got a tired worker, but that is normal for them anyway! Thanks to Beta 1 ([](http://thekatebeyond.livejournal.com/profile)[**thekatebeyond**](http://thekatebeyond.livejournal.com/)) for betaing.

* * *

 

It's always like this when she goes in search of the Doctor. She starts to walk the ship in search of him and the TARDIS prods her mind gently with directions until she finds his latest hiding place. He always hides when he broods.

She means to just check on him silently, observing from the doorway for a few minutes like always, but the room surprises her with its beauty. She can't stop the soft "wow" that escapes, anymore than she can let him alone when he's like this. The room is a balcony with a star-studded sky. She doesn't recognize any of the constellations, but she's used to that now. She can practically smell the crisp night air, and she can see stars in a night sky that seems to go on forever. But it is a room in the TARDIS, she knows this as she knows her own name. She's long since stopped trying to figure out how things can appear so real, but be only the TARDIS in her mind.

The Doctor turns and finds her leaning against the doorframe, her face full of wonder at the sight before her. He breaks into a small smile. He can't help it when he sees her.

He loves seeing time and space through her eyes – it's like it's all new again. He needs that innocence and joy, feeds off it. All of his companions marveled at the sights he showed them, but none like his Rose – none with her innocence and abandon. She truly makes everything new for him, although he spends his time watching her and not whatever catches her eye around them.

"I'm sorry." Her voice is a whisper, like a prayer. "I didn't mean to intrude. I just needed to see that you were okay, but the room surprised me. It's breathtaking."

He catches her hand without taking his eyes from the wonder in her face; she continues to watch the ever-changing sky. It's like his hand has a mind of its own or hers has a homing beacon his can find in a blizzard at night.

"Stay." It comes out as a plea.

Her answer is to tighten her grip on his hand and lean against the balcony. She doesn't ask what he is remembering this time. She never does. She knows he'll tell her when he's ready. Instead, she asks about the sky and the stars that shine down on them.

His answer surprises her more than the room did. "It's the night sky of Gallifrey."

She turns to him and her free hand has its own mind as it rests against his cheek. She never thinks it's odd to find him watching her – it's another constant like their hands fitting together. "You don't have to tell me anything." Her voice is soft and low. She'd wait for all of eternity for him, if that was what he needed.

"Do you always come check on me when I go off to brood?" He asks, wondering why he's never realized it until now.

"I can be stealthy when I want to," Rose tells him by way of an answer.

It hurts her to know he's hurting at times like this. There isn't anything she wouldn't do for him, but there isn't anything _for_ her to do for him. Nothing but watch and be there when he needs her.

"I'll always be here, you know. Even when I can't be anymore." She's not stupid enough to delude herself. She knows there'll come a day when he's alone again. Humans are exceedingly fragile, she's come to see, and can't live forever. The time she has is only a fraction of what he's already lived. She's not naive enough to think that he won't find another to take her place one day either. What's more, she wants him to. She doesn't want him to be alone. She's not sure what takes her thoughts in this direction or even why she feels compelled to tell him. Maybe it's the room; maybe it's the hurt and aloneness she reads in his eyes here. But she speaks them because it's a pressing need inside her, like finding him tonight. "Promise me you'll find another when the time comes. I don't want to ever think you'll be alone. It hurts too much."

"Rose." He denies her words with just her name.

"Doctor." She won't let him. "As you are always telling me, I'm human. Denying it now won't change that. Just promise me you'll remember it's better with two. It's all I will ever ask of you."

His free hand now rests on her cheek. "There'll never be another like you, my darling Rose. But I promise not to always be alone." She continually amazes him – her depth of caring and sacrifice, her capacity for love, and her desire to ease the burdens and pain of those around her. He's serious when he says they'll never be another like her – there is no one close to her in all of time and space.

It's never been spoken between them – and likely never will be – but words are rarely necessary for them. And if anyone _had_ been watching, observing them, the love wouldn't be hard to read in either's eyes.

"So what made you the philosophical sort today?" he asks, breaking the melancholy spell with a smile – not his maniacal grin, but a genuine smile. He can't stay brooding when she's around him.

"Woke up on that side of the bed, I guess." She smiles in return and shrugs as they turn to look back at the night sky. Their hands are still linked.

"I see." He points to a series of stars with the hand still warm from her cheek and proceeds to tell her about the constellations of a world that no longer exists except here and in memories of a single alien.

Rose moves into his space, leaning against his chest to be better able to follow his pointing hand and because she knows she belongs there for all the time they have. She won't remember all the constellations, but she'll never forget being in his arms when he showed her the stars of Gallifrey.


End file.
